The COVID-2019 Thread

[Bettyboo]

When things are entirely out of your control best is to think positive, might make you feel better though it changes about zero.

In this case it's a tossup. Some 'experts' point to China where it appears to have peaked and now drawing down; if China is to be trusted this could suggest that much the same will happen elsewhere, so that this time next month things will be going in the right direction throughout the infected regions. Others say we are learning fast but still don't know enough about the CV, and then lead to the worse case scenario for widespread infections to run out of control and overwhelm health services. Worst case always gives licence to the imagination, so i don't buy into this, esp since formerly complacent authorities have begun to release more firepower at this thing.

I tend to go with the former, that a month or two from now it'll be on its way out; not for the sake of 'being positive' but because China will have learned that their attempt to save face by covering up failed miserably, while the best of the west are already at the epicentre, so their more recent encouraging numbers are likely to lean toward the honest side.

Your analysis is flawed (on many levels...).

China put some serious measures in place, and they seem to have the virus under control. Yet, when everything in China gets back to normal because the restrictions are lifted, experts have stated that the virus is likely to start up again, at least in pockets.

Korea has done serious and sensible measures; nobody's liberty has been affected, people are still having pleasant lives, but hospitals and GPs are restricted, everyone is wearing masks to slow down the spread and help the health services, individual cases (i.e. where the people visited, with address) has been shared with local populations so that good decisions can be made - for example, I avoided the Burger King for two weeks that an infected person had visited the same day they were admitted to a hospital.

As can be seen from the photo 'Arry posted, above, the Americans are doing sweet FA to slow down the spread of this virus and as a result the US numbers will be in the hundreds of thousands very quickly and their health service will be over-loaded within 2 months. Europe appears to be equally ill prepared.

You see the high mortality rate in Italy? Well wait until this virus hits the mega-obese communities in the US... This has already stated by experts, yet the American/European governments are not taking the same actions as the Chinese/Korean governments. Korea has really been quite 'gentle' restrictions, Europe/US could certainly do the same without affecting people's civil liberties. Alas, we see in the picture above and comments on this thread such as "just leave it to run its course, no actions/restrictions are required" that the civil liberties that many folks invoke are being dumb in a way that negatively affects society.

[HermantheGerman]

& I can't see even one with a mask on - absolute morons...

The problem is that in Western countries there are NO MASKS to buy. When you look how badly equipped our doctors are, you know there is something wrong. The only reason why you don't see our politicians wearing a mask is because of the copy effect. When you look at the European police patrolling the borders, you will see them wearing mask.
Bottom line is: "EUROPE HAS FAILED MISERABLY !"

Joke of today!

Departure
Tehran (IKA)
2020-03-16

Imam Khomeini International Airport
Scheduled Departure Time: 07:37 (2020-03-15)
----------------------------------------------


Arrival
Frankfurt (FRA)
2020-03-16

Frankfurt Airport

[HermantheGerman]

Your analysis is flawed (on many levels...)
China put some serious measures in place, and they seem to have the virus under control.

How do I know you are wrong ?

A Chinese woman, living here in Germany told me 3 days ago that she wants to go back to China. She is locking herself up in the Apartment and says its not safe in Germany.

That's what I call communist propaganda working at its finest. She only watches/listens (like OhOh) communist trash news.

[David48atTD]

got 4 packs (and that lasts quite a long time for me and the missus...

Mate, you're living the nightmare, I'm not but ...

I read that the masks are only effective for about 8 hours.

So, going through 2 masks a day.

What's your plan?

[Neverna]

Thailand reports 32 new coronavirus cases, brings total to 114

Thailand reports four new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 47 since January, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, director-general of the Department of Disease Control said in a news conference on Thursday.

The new cases include a 29 year-old Italian man who arrived in Thailand on March 1 and was diagnosed with the virus at a hospital in Chonburi province on March 2.

The second case is a 42 year-old Thai male office worker who returned from Italy on March 2 and was diagnosed with the virus on March 3 in a Chonburi hospital.

The third is a 22 year-old Chinese male student who was screened with symptoms while in transit at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport while traveling from Iran to China.

The fourth case is a 20 year-old Thai male student who arrived from Iran on Feb. 27 and was diagnosed with the virus in the southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province on March 2.

Thailand has recorded one coronavirus fatality, 31 patients have recovered and returned home, while 15 are still being treated in hospitals.

Thailand reports four new coronavirus cases, total 47 - Reuters

[HermantheGerman]

Dutch researchers find antibody which may lead to anti-corona medicine.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/03/dutch-researchers-find-antibody-which-may-lead-to-anti-corona-medicine/

at least this news is not coming from U.K. or Australia...so there might be some hope

[harrybarracuda]

What tourist map?

The one that had a load of aircraft full of witless overseas tourists that were turned back over the weekend.

[harrybarracuda]

Dutch researchers find antibody which may lead to anti-corona medicine.

Dutch researchers find antibody which may lead to anti-corona medicine - DutchNews.nl

at least this news is not coming from U.K. or Australia...so there might be some hope

"May lead to" probably next year at the earliest.

[harrybarracuda]

Nobody knows what a safe distance is, so we revert to hiding under a table or desk if the 4-minute warning sounds.

Well apparently the Norwegians are allowing bars to open as long as there is room for three feet between patrons.

I would imagine that isn't much of a problem in Thailand at the moment.

[Neverna]

Thailand reports 32 new coronavirus cases, brings total to 114

Thailand reports four new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 47 since January, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, director-general of the Department of Disease Control said in a news conference on Thursday.

The new cases include a 29 year-old Italian man who arrived in Thailand on March 1 and was diagnosed with the virus at a hospital in Chonburi province on March 2.

The second case is a 42 year-old Thai male office worker who returned from Italy on March 2 and was diagnosed with the virus on March 3 in a Chonburi hospital.

The third is a 22 year-old Chinese male student who was screened with symptoms while in transit at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport while traveling from Iran to China.

The fourth case is a 20 year-old Thai male student who arrived from Iran on Feb. 27 and was diagnosed with the virus in the southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province on March 2.

Thailand has recorded one coronavirus fatality, 31 patients have recovered and returned home, while 15 are still being treated in hospitals.

Thailand reports four new coronavirus cases, total 47 - Reuters

Interesting. Reuters changed the numbers and content of that article in the time it took me to copy and paste it!

The one I initially read stated 32 new cases and a total of 114. The new text now says 4 new and 47 total.

The Bangkok Post still says 32 and 114 but doesn't give many details.

Thailand reports 32 new coronavirus cases, brings total to 114

[David48atTD]

... repeated slogans such as "let it spread by itself", "let the old die"...

There is the fact that, if/when the elderly do get sick, a lot ... they are in Hospital for 14 + days and they take up critical care beds but,
for other reasons, we have Hospitals. Car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, stabbings ... and the rest.

We have to work together, as a community to minimise the effect of the Virus.

Easy to say ... but, given the hoarders, the selfish (the deranged) buying a truck-load of toilet paper, I'm not optimistic.

[Bettyboo]

^ there's the cultural mentality element.

East Asians are probably just about the best lot at following instructions for this kind of situation. South Asians, SE Asians, Europeans and North Americans seem absolutely useless in these situations; everyone thinks they are so smart and know so much that they all do different things, so it's hard for the governments to manage the societies. Of course, the governments outside of East Asia seemed to have completely failed too...

If Trump doesn't start enabling the US health professionals to make decent decisions then there'll be more infected and dead Americans than anywhere else in the world, and he can kiss goodbye to his next term in the White House.

Mate, you're living the nightmare, I'm not but ...

I read that the masks are only effective for about 8 hours.

So, going through 2 masks a day.

What's your plan?

Each mask is different, obviously. Korean has terrible ultra-fine dust pollution, so mask wearing is normal, and there's a lot of decent(ish) quality masks.

I go out most days, for an hour or so, walking the dog or shopping, so the masks last a long time. I've noticed for a few years that the Chinese students have much better masks than we have in Korea - solid plastic, well fitting with changeable filters.

I was speaking to an Italian colleague recently, she said she's not going back to Italy/Europe because she feels much safer here. She says that even in Italy now, with all the attempts by the government, that the mentality of the people is to just do what they want - apparently, in certain areas, you cannot go out onto the streets without papers, and armed police are checking everyone - 250 euro fines or imprisonment if you break these curfew laws...

[Bettyboo]

Well apparently the Norwegians are allowing bars to open as long as there is room for three feet between patrons.

I would imagine that isn't much of a problem in Thailand at the moment.

I know a fella in Norway, a brewer, he has just been laid off because apparently 80% of alcohol sales for his company have been lost; that's in Bergen.

[HermantheGerman]

Easy to say ... but, given the hoarders, the selfish (the deranged) buying a truck-load of toilet paper, I'm not optimistic.

....or stealing (ripping them out of the holders) the disinfection bottles from hospitals.

[Bettyboo]

....or stealing (ripping them out of the holders) the disinfection bottles from hospitals.

Every shop, train, bus, apartment building, etc has a medical gel bottle at the entrance - I presumed this would be standard in Europe/US too. If not, why not? It's cheap, easy and has some positive affect.

[Klondyke]

That's what friends are for:

Half million donated face masks land in Belgium en route to Italy, with more to come
A plane carrying Chinese medical supplies for Europe to aid its battle against #coronavirus lands in Belgium.
Half million donated face masks land in Belgium en route to Italy, with more to come - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Xi says China firmly supports Italy's efforts against COVID-19
The Chinese president said that mankind is a community with a shared future and that only through unity and coordination can humanity tackle various global risks and challenges.
Xi says China firmly supports Italy's efforts against COVID-19 - Xinhua | English.news.cn

[Klondyke]

US pharma company Gilead, which owns the most promising COVID-19 vaccine, is booming in "pandemic stock sales," preparing to sell it for $50-100/person, and in a legal battle to deny the Chinese gov access, because China would make the vaccine free and ship it to the global south
https://twitter.com/mqmq_mmqq/status...51849769676801

whilst:

David Wallace-Wells
@dwallacewells
A single Chinese billionaire is providing more testing kits to Americans than the CDC and the entire federal government has managed—and not just a few more, more by many orders of magnitude.
https://twitter.com/dwallacewells/st...77908773134338

[Klondyke]

That's what Bundeswehr is for:

MINISTER SCHEUER ON EMPTY SHELVES:
Bundeswehr could supply supermarkets

The Corona fear is leading to more hamster purchases and empty shelves in the supermarket nationwide. Especially noodles, canned food and toilet paper end up in the shopping cart in batches. Does logistics withstand the onslaught?

Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (45, CSU) explains in Bild-Talk how the supply works in the crisis. We also checked with dealers and associations: Do the shelves remain empty?

Minister Scheuer uber leere Regale: Bundeswehr konnte
Supermarkte beliefern *** BILDplus Inhalt *** -
Politik Inland -
Bild.de

[Dragonfly]

Apple to close all stores outside of China until March 27 in response to coronavirus


Key Points

• Apple said it will close all of its stores outside of greater China until March 27 to reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading.
• Its online store will remain open as well as its “Apple Store” app.
• Apple said it had learnt lessons from the outbreak in China and that “the most effective way to minimize risk of the virus’s transmission is to reduce density and maximize social distance.”

Coronavirus: Apple to close all stores outside of China until March 27

Of Fuck No, not the Apple Store !!!!

[Seekingasylum]

I don't see why anyone should express gratitude for so-called Chinese generosity in sending aid to the West, those fuckers are the bastards who crated the pandora poison and then tried to conceal the extent of the contagion.

The $ billions lost by the rest of the world should be underwritten by the Chinks.

[HermantheGerman]

That's what friends are for:

Half million donated face masks land in Belgium en route to Italy, with more to come
A plane carrying Chinese medical supplies for Europe to aid its battle against #coronavirus lands in Belgium.
Half million donated face masks land in Belgium en route to Italy, with more to come - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Xi says China firmly supports Italy's efforts against COVID-19
The Chinese president said that mankind is a community with a shared future and that only through unity and coordination can humanity tackle various global risks and challenges.
Xi says China firmly supports Italy's efforts against COVID-19 - Xinhua | English.news.cn

They forgot to mention that the first covid-19 outbreak occurred on 17 November 2020 in China. And they happily share it with Italy and the rest of the world....for free.

[lom]

If Trump doesn't start enabling the US health professionals to make decent decisions then there'll be more infected and dead Americans than anywhere else in the world, and he can kiss goodbye to his next term in the White House.

Seems like a win-win to me.

[HermantheGerman]

That's what Bundeswehr is for:

MINISTER SCHEUER ON EMPTY SHELVES:
Bundeswehr could supply supermarkets

The Corona fear is leading to more hamster purchases and empty shelves in the supermarket nationwide. Especially noodles, canned food and toilet paper end up in the shopping cart in batches. Does logistics withstand the onslaught?

Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (45, CSU) explains in Bild-Talk how the supply works in the crisis. We also checked with dealers and associations: Do the shelves remain empty?

Minister Scheuer uber leere Regale: Bundeswehr konnte
Supermarkte beliefern *** BILDplus Inhalt *** -
Politik Inland -
Bild.de

The thing to do now is:

All German military operation should be suspended.
Bring the boys back home and save billions of Euros, we will need every cent.

covid-19 will hopefully take care of the other viruses without military support

[OhOh]

Yet, when everything in China gets back to normal because the restrictions are lifted, experts have stated that the virus is likely to start up again, at least in pockets.

Quite possibly and they will immediately shut down China/the localities again.

In addition they now have a proven successful strategy, a proven resource system to re-boot and the same citizen"s trust.

As for the others, their still pissing around.

Have they the will, the power or trusting citizens. We shall see.

[harrybarracuda]

Quite possibly and they will immediately shut down China/the localities again.

In addition they now have a proven successful strategy, a proven resource system to re-boot and the same citizen"s trust.

As for the others, their still pissing around.

Have they the will, the power or trusting citizens. We shall see.

"Citizen's trust"